Council Bill to Require Photographs to Accompany Each Sanitation Violation

Council Member Michael C. Nelson, along with his fellow colleagues, Council Member Simcha Felder and Council Member James Vacca, will hold a press conference today to discuss upcoming legislation that will require notices of violation issued by the department of sanitation to be accompanied with a photograph of the alleged violation. The legislation is expected to be formally introduced at the Stated Council meeting on Wednesday.

“Requiring department of sanitation agents to provide photographic evidence of each alleged violation serves two purposes “said Councilman Michael Nelson. “First, it will protect the people of the city of New York from overzealous sanitation enforcement agents. Second, it will potentially diminish the amount of guilty violators who seek to fight the system simply to avoid paying for their wrongful ways.”

“Having photos accompany sanitation tickets would prove that the property owner was actually violating the law,” said Councilman Felder. “Additionally, it would reduce the number of baseless appeals that are costly to resolve.”

“Lately, this City has gone ticket-crazy, and the onus is on average New Yorkers to prove that they’re not guilty” said Councilman James Vacca. “Like with parking tickets, challenging sanitation summonses often boils down to a matter of ‘he said, she said.’ This bill gives homeowners a much-needed leg to stand on when they feel they’ve been ticketed unfairly.”